Chapter 21 – Reprobate Romance

It felt like it had been days. Isabella was still in the same spot she was with tears still streaming down her cheeks, splashing on the back of her hand. By this point, she was several feet away from Scabior. He was lying in the filth in the dark, staring at her with cold, dead eyes.

"Why do you still not believe me?" She kept asking quietly. Her voice had basically been gone from screaming for help for hours. He never answered; it was almost like he couldn't even hear her.

She looked out through the cell's barred door, which she still clung to with hope. Another dementor was passing by. If the creature had eyes, she could have sworn it was looking into her soul. It passed by; a chill overtook her and she turned away. She finally unclamped her aching fingers from the rusted bar. The stiffness kept her knuckles rigid. She massaged them while leaning against the wall behind her. She met Scabior's eyes again, still staring at her.

"Years ago, I never thought this would be my fate," she said. "But here we are. Who even knows where our children are. Not like you really care; you don't even believe it's me. You retracted yourself away from me like I was vermin." Tears sparked in Isabella's eyes again. "It's like I'm eighteen all over again. You won't even speak to me!"

He continued to stare, no change of emotion apparent in his sunken face. She brought her knees to her chest, holding in her sobs. "Where did I go wrong?" She looked up at the stone ceiling. "Why did I ever run away? Why didn't I just stay home and put up with my parents like a normal teenage girl should?" She looked back down at Scabior, all these sad emotions overwhelming her. "Why did I make the stupid decision in staying with you when I knew how dangerous you were? What possibly made me fall in love with you?"

She buried her face in her knees, crying uncontrollably again. She felt like she was fading from her own existence. She could barely do anything. Then, a sudden movement caught her attention. She looked up to see Scabior, sitting up. He leaned against the wall, grimacing in pain. He looked at Isabella again with the same blank stare. And then, he opens his mouth to speak. She sits up straighter, waiting impatiently.

"Isabella..." he started in a hoarse tone, "was the girl I needed in my life. She showed me what it felt like to love and be loved. I fell in love with her the moment she punched me in the face, I think..." he let out something that sounded like a laugh. She let out one of her own, placing a hand over her mouth to muffle it. "Funny...I never really knew how to show my emotions properly. I had Fenrir Greyback break her arm after that. Feelin' guilty, I asked a boy I knew to bring her to her room. I never should have asked him."

Jonathon. His face had actually turned to anger. It was nice to see some sort of emotion.

"But I fixed her arm." He nodded to himself, as if that made him a better person. She smiled and shook her head. "I really knew I was in love when I let her go. I would wake up in the early mornin', turn over and expect her to be there and she wasn't. Sometimes, I would storm into my tent, wantin' her to be sittin' there, throwin' me a dirty look. I forgot a few times, too...and I'd go into that git's tent so I could bring her back. It confused the boy for days." He stopped for a moment. Isabella felt her heart beat faster. She wanted to stop him. She didn't want to hear all of this.

"She had a funny way of showin' how she loved me, too though." He met her eyes across the room. She looked into his, uncomfortably shifting her weight around. Did he finally realize it was her? "I joined the snatchers again because I thought I would protect her. If she were here, I would tell her the truth. I joined because I knew who Jonah was. I knew that he had a blood connection to one of my old snatchers..." He finally looked away from Isabella. "Greyback. Jonah is Greyback's son." He let out another laugh.

"He visited me when he threw you in here. He told me the whole story. The whole thing was a scam. The only reason he sent that letter to me was to test me. If I never came, he would've killed my family in their sleep and convinced me then. He wanted to turn me back into the monster I was after Abby died." His eyes were turning sad.

Isabella didn't know what to say. More tears spilled over. She wanted to go over there and comfort him but she knew it wouldn't do any good. He didn't even recognize that it was her.

"He wants revenge on me for denyin' his father's authority when he was a snatcher. He's livin' up to his father's dream. And now, he got what he wanted. He's goin' to kill Isabella and the rest of my family. I can't even imagine what he's done to Jasmine."

Isabella's eyes gained an ounce of hope. Scabior squeezed his eyes shut, hitting his head on the back of the wall.

"I tried so hard to protect them."

"Scabior," Isabella finally spoke up. He looked at her with hatred. "Who did Jonah tell you I was?"

"That you were a delusional witch. You look a lot like her...but you can't be."

She bit her lip. "Where did he say Jasmine was?"

"Why should it matter to you?" He asked harshly.

"It really is me!" She screamed. "It's me! I am Isabella! I vowed to love you more than twenty years ago and I will continue to love you unconditionally!"

Scabior shook his head. "She would never say that to me."

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Her weak body crawled back to the iron barred door. She stuck her face against the gaps, clutching them tightly.

"Save us! Please! Somebody, please!" She cried out pitifully, shaking the door. "Please help us!" When she turned back around, Scabior had lied back on the ground, his eyes blank. "Why won't you even try?" She screamed.

He looked up at her. "I have nothin' left to live for."

Angrily, she turned back to the door. A dementor had appeared in front of her. She backed away, watching in horror. The door slowly unlocked and opened and it floated in, coming toward her. She hit the wall behind her, only a few feet from Scabior. He watched carelessly as the dementor came closer.

She grabbed his hand, lying on the ground beside him. He looked at her, confused. She squeezed his hand tighter.

"If I'm going to die, it's going to be next to you." She touched his face gently. A sudden recognition sparked in his eyes. "Jonathon and Alice are alive. I can guarantee you that. They're just as strong as the both of us. No one will ever beat them. Please...tell me where Jasmine is."

Scabior's eyes clouded with tears as he stared into Isabella's eyes. "Jonah found her. He locked her up somewhere. He wants to keep her, Izzy."

Isabella's eyes widened. "What?"

"He wants her."

And then, the cold and sadness dominated her body. She could only see Scabior's face coming out in a blur. Everything was going in slow motion.

She was dying.

And suddenly, it was over. There was darkness. And remorse. Her eyes were open just enough to make out Scabior's face, still staring at her. He finally realized it was her and he was about to lose her. But then, a pair of arms were picking her up and carrying her away. Scabior's figure faded, replaced by something different—stone walls all around.

Only a few moments later, she was thrown on the ground. A bony hand grabbed her face and forced it to look at her savior. Flaming red hair was fenced around the girl's dirty, scratched face.

"You are the most despicable witch I've ever met. You blindly walk into the Ministry, thinking you won't get caught. Then, you try to kill me and the new Minister of Magic, thinking you'll actually win." Veronica laughed maniacally. "How can you live with yourself?"

Isabella stared at her. Any ounce of care she had left was leaving. Suddenly, Veronica thrust her hand in her pocket. She pulled something out and unwrapped it, shoving it in Isabella's mouth. Isabella chewed and her face turned to confusion—chocolate. Her vision refocused. Veronica looked like she'd just been through a battle of her own.

"Get out as fast as you can. Don't even think about going back for Scabior. He's long gone," Veronica said, letting go of Isabella.

"I have to!" Isabella said, slowly getting to her feet. "He remembered me! I can't let him die."

"You have to learn to let go, Is," Veronica snapped. "You lose things you care about. You have to sacrifice things sometimes even when it means so much to you."

Isabella stared at her. Those were the same words Scabior said to her years ago when he wanted her to kill Jonathon.

"How did—" Isabella started.

"I'll get him out of the jail cell," Veronica said arrogantly. "I don't want him to decay in there either. Go save your kids. Jonah's going to come for me soon. I'll die before he can reach me though." She let out a nervous laugh. "Dementors, you know?"

"Why are you helping me?"

Veronica looked down. "Because I've seen Jasmine. I've spent time with Jonathon. Both of them are turning into monsters—something I became after I found out about my mother. No child should lose their mother. They don't know how lucky they are to have a mum who loves them more than anything."

"Veronica..."

"I still despise you." She snapped, meeting her eyes. "Get out before I change my mind. Go!"

Finally giving in, Isabella raced out of the prison, down the long staircase. She blew off the lock on the door and ran outside. She never thought she would feel the warm air ever again. But suddenly, her foot stepped on something and she was pulled up into a netted trap. She struggled to tear it open but nothing worked. In the distance, she heard a pair of footsteps running toward her in the dark. She tried to find her wand but then realized it was on the ground below her.

If it wasn't one thing, it was another. She stared in fear when an illuminated wand came closer to her. But the voice eased her fear.

"Oh my god..."

They cut the rope and she fell to the ground. Apologizing, the familiar boy loosed her from the trap. When she was free, they both wrapped their arms around each other. She cried into Jonathon's shoulder, petting his hair.

"Mum, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're okay." She took a better look at him, smiling.

"Veronica said she was getting dad, too...where are they?"

Her smile disappeared. She shook her head. Jonathon's eyes turned sad. He wrapped himself around his mother again. She softly kissed him as he cried into her shirt.

"I know what Jonah's done with Jasmine," Isabella said silently. "I'm going to find her, Jon. And when I do, I'm going to free her and kill Jonah. Then, we're all going home."

Jonathon looked into her eyes, his red and puffy. "How?"

Her soft expression turned bitter. "I'll think of something."

A/N: I'm close to finishing this fic. I don't exactly have an ending picked out yet. I have a few in mind. I'm trying to decide which one will make you all hate me less. :P Hope you guys enjoy!

Song used for this chapter is "Reprobate Romance" by Blacklisted Me.